08.01.14
France
www.chanel.com
Sales: $2.4 billion
Key Personnel: Alain Wertheimer, co-owner and chairman; Gerard Wertheimer, co-owner; Maureen Chiquet, chief executive officer.
Major Products: Fragrances—Chanel No. 5, Allure, Allure Homme, Coco, Coco Mademoiselle, Chance, No.19, Cristalle, Pour Monsieur, Antaeus, Egoïste, Les Exclusifs, Bleu de Chanel. Skin care—Sublimage, Ultra Correction Lift and Line Repair, Hydramax + Active, White Essentiel, Le Blanc, Hydra-Beauty. Color cosmetics—Rouge Allure, Rouge Coco, Le Vernis, Inimitable, Inimitable Intense, Les 4 Ombres, Vitalumière, Joues Contrastes.
New Products: Reflections of Summer color cosmetics collection.
Comments: The term iconic gets tossed around a lot these days—iconic automobiles, iconic design—heck, there’s even an iconic bag of potato chips (that would be Terra Chips, apparently). But when it comes to brands, Chanel really is, well, iconic; in part, because the brand has been around for nearly 100 years and, in part, because the company keeps itself exclusive, aspirational and yes, limited.
In an interview with Yale, her alma mater, CEO Maureen Chiquet noted when it comes to luxury brands in general and for Chanel in particular, less is more.
“In luxury, sometimes you are trying to sell less so you don’t vandalize the product,” she explained. “The bottom line is on the quality and beauty of the image and the designs we have and customer service. Do that and the profit will come.”
Slow and steady wins the race and the hearts of luxury consumers, too.
“At Chanel we have a lot of stable products like No. 5 and the handbag,” Chiquet pointed out. “It’s not always churn and burn. We have a stable product that we want to maintain.”
Maintaining a balance between an overall vision and appealing to local markets is critical to the company’s long-term success, she said.
“We are the ultimate house of luxury; defining style and creating desire now and forever. That vision is the same in the US, France, China or Japan,” insisted Chiquet.
Of course, there are differences among consumers especially when it comes to beauty. As a result, Chanel adapts products such as skin care and color cosmetics, to meet the unique needs of consumers who have different skin types or different skin tones. And while many beauty companies are rethinking their rush into emerging markets, Chanel’s entry has been more measured.
“Emerging markets play a pretty big role; especially if you consider China to still be emerging,” she said. “But our core markets of the US, Europe and Japan play an important role in our growth.”
That’s because clients in established markets still clamor for Chanel products, and several categories, such as skin care, still offer plenty of growth opportunities. And of course, there’s always a new generation of consumers ready to step up for that classic Chanel bag.
While emerging markets differ from each other in terms of custom, culture, regulations and language, they share a desire for luxury goods.
“There is still a lot of wealth acquisition going on,” said Chiquet. “They really want that badge, the bag. But as they learn more about our products, they resemble our stable markets more.”
But whether the Chanel customer is in New York or New Delhi, for Chanel, it’s all about the client.
“In a way, we don’t really look at markets any more. Our clients are traveling all the time,” she explained. “So we’re looking at the clientele and not just the markets.”
www.chanel.com
Sales: $2.4 billion
Key Personnel: Alain Wertheimer, co-owner and chairman; Gerard Wertheimer, co-owner; Maureen Chiquet, chief executive officer.
Major Products: Fragrances—Chanel No. 5, Allure, Allure Homme, Coco, Coco Mademoiselle, Chance, No.19, Cristalle, Pour Monsieur, Antaeus, Egoïste, Les Exclusifs, Bleu de Chanel. Skin care—Sublimage, Ultra Correction Lift and Line Repair, Hydramax + Active, White Essentiel, Le Blanc, Hydra-Beauty. Color cosmetics—Rouge Allure, Rouge Coco, Le Vernis, Inimitable, Inimitable Intense, Les 4 Ombres, Vitalumière, Joues Contrastes.
New Products: Reflections of Summer color cosmetics collection.
Comments: The term iconic gets tossed around a lot these days—iconic automobiles, iconic design—heck, there’s even an iconic bag of potato chips (that would be Terra Chips, apparently). But when it comes to brands, Chanel really is, well, iconic; in part, because the brand has been around for nearly 100 years and, in part, because the company keeps itself exclusive, aspirational and yes, limited.
In an interview with Yale, her alma mater, CEO Maureen Chiquet noted when it comes to luxury brands in general and for Chanel in particular, less is more.
“In luxury, sometimes you are trying to sell less so you don’t vandalize the product,” she explained. “The bottom line is on the quality and beauty of the image and the designs we have and customer service. Do that and the profit will come.”
Slow and steady wins the race and the hearts of luxury consumers, too.
“At Chanel we have a lot of stable products like No. 5 and the handbag,” Chiquet pointed out. “It’s not always churn and burn. We have a stable product that we want to maintain.”
Maintaining a balance between an overall vision and appealing to local markets is critical to the company’s long-term success, she said.
“We are the ultimate house of luxury; defining style and creating desire now and forever. That vision is the same in the US, France, China or Japan,” insisted Chiquet.
Of course, there are differences among consumers especially when it comes to beauty. As a result, Chanel adapts products such as skin care and color cosmetics, to meet the unique needs of consumers who have different skin types or different skin tones. And while many beauty companies are rethinking their rush into emerging markets, Chanel’s entry has been more measured.
“Emerging markets play a pretty big role; especially if you consider China to still be emerging,” she said. “But our core markets of the US, Europe and Japan play an important role in our growth.”
That’s because clients in established markets still clamor for Chanel products, and several categories, such as skin care, still offer plenty of growth opportunities. And of course, there’s always a new generation of consumers ready to step up for that classic Chanel bag.
While emerging markets differ from each other in terms of custom, culture, regulations and language, they share a desire for luxury goods.
“There is still a lot of wealth acquisition going on,” said Chiquet. “They really want that badge, the bag. But as they learn more about our products, they resemble our stable markets more.”
But whether the Chanel customer is in New York or New Delhi, for Chanel, it’s all about the client.
“In a way, we don’t really look at markets any more. Our clients are traveling all the time,” she explained. “So we’re looking at the clientele and not just the markets.”